I have no experience following up leopard, but the issue brought up by some is that up close {your 5 yards mentioned for example} the shot charge represents one big bullet. Thus, it offers no advantage over a rifle. Then, if a shot presents itself at ranges over 25 yards, the pattern opens up enough and the pellets have such poor ballistic properties that once again you are better off with a rifle.

From about 5 to 25 yards the shotgun with a good load of buckshot in a well-choked gun offers decent performance but not so much of an advantage that a poorly placed shot will be "made up for by the swarm of pellets" as might be stated in a crime novels. Giving up the longer range possibilities negates even the decent performance of the 5-25 yard shot for some, according to what I have read. I guess I see their point. If you see Spots for a fleeting moment sitting in some brush at 50 yards and you only have time for a snap shot before he hobbles off and thus have no time to take over a rifle from Ilunga, that shotgun is going to be a conundrum. What would have been a done deal now requires more tracking.

By the wa, in my experience you have to test each load with several chokes in each gun to figure out which produces the best pattern. Choke tubes are a big help in a single barrel gun for this reason. some gun/load combinations like one choke with a given load, some another.

Remember, I have no experience with leopard, but I do patterning buckshot. I wonder what an experienced fellow might think who was handed a Marlin .336 in .375 Winchester for following up leopard. Very light, very handy and from bayonet distance to 50 yards and more a good killer, too, bulleted right, that is.